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Goodbye Jesus

Getting Over Worthless


Seabiscuit

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During my christian years and even after ('cause its taking so long to get over!) I've thought a lot about the christian concept of being worthless. Now, if you read my piece on how often I read my bible, you'd know that I no longer own one--tossed it!

 

However, somewhere between the covers is a verse about our best is like filthy rags to god. Now at the top of my brain, I know this isn't true. But some wheres in the lower part of my brain--I feel worthless!

 

I wish I could go to some doctor's office and have those teachings removed, but, alas, I can't. I've struggled for years not feeling good enough. Now, I can't go around blaming all my problems on the 'ol church. I might have had these lowly worthless feelings without religion.

 

But what I was wondering is how does one de-program from all the christian brainwashing? I've done everything I can think of to get over the worthless feeling. Seems to me that perhaps that teaching helped folks stay at church and not ask too many questions. Here I go again, explaining why! What I want to know is how do I get over these pieces of religious crap?

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Think about all that you are. Think about the things that bring you greatest joy. Think about how your successes in life have make you feel. Think of all those times you were so happy you cried. Think about those moments in your life that were so precious to you, in your mind they've stood still.

 

Think of all that you are. Think about the times you've failed, but also think about how much you learned from the failure. It was almost worth failing, because of what you learned. And so even the failure has value to you.

 

Think of all that. This is your best. Seriously think about that.

 

Would your best friend in the whole wide world trash you for it? Hell no they wouldn't dare.

 

God is supposed to know all. So not only would such a being know what your best was, but also how you feel about it, and how it's wrapped up along with who you are.

 

What kind of supposed supreme being would look on all that as garbage?!! How could such a being even be worthy of the title of god?!

 

No way. A truly supreme being (and it sure as shit is NOT Biblegod...) would NEVER shit on all that.

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Seabiscuit, the verse you refer to is Isaiah 64:6. (Unfortunately, I have much of the bible's Top Preachable Verses committed to memory. This is one of them.)

 

The only thing worse than this stupid verse, are the Christians who abuse and misuse it.

 

Christians preach that "God" considers our righteousness as filthy rags. (Literally, a soiled diaper.) But that is a false representation. The prophet Isaiah was speaking for himself, not "God". His words were part of a prayer of contrition, confessing what HE felt as his people's unworthiness. To later claim that "God" feels this way about humanity is abusive and a gross overstatement.

 

Christians ought to be ashamed of themselves for the horrible ways in which they manipulate scripture and human emotions. Telling someone that "God" considers them unworthy is not only arrogant, but evil.

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Well-put, Grinch. If Biblegodzilla isn't acting like a devil, his fanclub is.

 

Seabiscuit, I contended with feelings of worthlessness after I left my ex and nearly dumped Xianity. I knew I could not live by it's hoity-toity moral precepts nor wanted to, but since I still had much to deprogram myself from, I still felt worthless and evil, worthy of damnation and worthy also of no good in this world. I felt like that because I wanted to live like a normal human, ie, enjoy pleasurable things, not shuffle in and out of a church like a mindless robot, not waste time praying to a god who wasn't listening to me, and simply not bother with religion anymore. I hadn't yet gotten rid of the insidiousness that Xianity leaves in the believer, the feeling of being a pile of crap that needs the blood of Jesus to wash clean as snow.

 

The truth of the matter is I was always a decent person and had no reason to hate myself. But reading and listening to how Biblegodzilla hates us for the slightest moral failure for years and years eventually got to me. If you pound on a nail hard enough, it will sink in, and isn't pulled out easily. But the truth is that you are a human being, born no more good or evil than anyone on this board. You no more deserve eternal torment than anyone here, and you do not deserve to be comapred to anything filthy or rotten. You are human, and while that is not perfection incarnate, it is what you are, and given the beautiful things we make and the good that we do, that's something special. No god with a shred of morality or compassion would disagree, and for any god to look down and see you just trying to live your life and behave with honor and composure and not be pleased is a travesty.

 

Whatever creator exists may not even be aware of us. But if any are, they'd be pleased in those creations who simply exist as they are capable of and try to be their best. One thing that helped lead me away from Xianity were Deist websites and writings on the matter of a just and reasonable god. No just and reasonable god could loathe his creatures so deeply and for so little reason. Trust in that - trust that if there is a god which can see you, he or she or it will see a decent human being living a decent human life. Maybe you are nothing spectacular or grandiose, but you are you - and that's good enough. Any god worthy of the title would agree.

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Add to the above good advice a little appropriate righteous indignation, some well-founded flashes of anger, and the most mischievous and outrageous swear words (in heretofore unheard-of combination).

 

In other words, go for all those outcries of "I am!" that were forbidden to you. Especially in the beginning of deconversion, it kinda helps get your body humours back in balance.

 

Good luck, Seabiscuit.

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Seabiscuit, the verse you refer to is Isaiah 64:6. (Unfortunately, I have much of the bible's Top Preachable Verses committed to memory. This is one of them.)

 

The only thing worse than this stupid verse, are the Christians who abuse and misuse it.

 

Christians preach that "God" considers our righteousness as filthy rags. (Literally, a soiled diaper.) But that is a false representation. The prophet Isaiah was speaking for himself, not "God". His words were part of a prayer of contrition, confessing what HE felt as his people's unworthiness. To later claim that "God" feels this way about humanity is abusive and a gross overstatement.

 

Christians ought to be ashamed of themselves for the horrible ways in which they manipulate scripture and human emotions. Telling someone that "God" considers them unworthy is not only arrogant, but evil.

 

The way one of my former ministers taught this verse, was that the actual translation of "filthy rags" was "menstrual cloths". So according to Christian teaching, in God's eyes we are a bunch of used tampons.

 

Isn't that special? :ugh:

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Christians preach that "God" considers our righteousness as filthy rags. (Literally, a soiled diaper.)

 

Isn't THAT interesting. If we are god's children and we are sitting in soiled diapers, whose fault is that? If MY baby was wearing a soilded diaper I would consider it MY responsibilty to change the diaper and clean up the child.

 

What kind of parent would leava a baby in a dirty diaper and punish the baby for soiling itself? The kind that social services have thrown in jail, that's what! :vent:

 

I'm sorry you are having such a hard time with this Seabiscuit. Have you read charley's "Living Well" thread. I'm no shrink but I think he is giving out some great advice there, and he wrote some interesting things about the sin of pride.

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It takes some time to get over some of the "finer" points of christianity (or any other religion). You didn't swallow the doctrine lock, stock and barrel in one day, so remember that it may take some time to get over it.

 

I have come to believe that christianity is allot like late night t.v. infomercials. It needs to convince you that you have problems before it can sell you the cure. The truth is you don't have dishpan hands, erectile dysfunction, incurable depression, and you aren't worthless. It's just a ploy to pull you in deeper and convince you that you need god in your life. Of course if you look into deeply enough god (allegedly) made us worthless in his own worthless image. '

 

Don't fall for the marketing...they are jsut trying to seperate you from your money.

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It takes some time to get over some of the "finer" points of christianity (or any other religion). You didn't swallow the doctrine lock, stock and barrel in one day, so remember that it may take some time to get over it.

 

I have come to believe that christianity is allot like late night t.v. infomercials. It needs to convince you that you have problems before it can sell you the cure. The truth is you don't have dishpan hands, erectile dysfunction, incurable depression, and you aren't worthless. It's just a ploy to pull you in deeper and convince you that you need god in your life. Of course if you look into deeply enough god (allegedly) made us worthless in his own worthless image. '

 

Don't fall for the marketing...they are jsut trying to seperate you from your money.

 

Very true - Xianity is a smoke-and-mirrors phony-baloney routine that relies on tricking you into believing you are ill and only it has the cure. Just like a bad infomercial.

 

Get the Christ-o-matic now for $19.95!

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All the responses here have been VERY helpful for me! No, I'm not going for any more xian infomercials! :loser:

 

It is helpful to understand the origins of this verse and the twisted version. Yes, we must create a need inorder to sell something. Even if I have to remind myself 50 times a day 365 days a year, I'm going to remind myself I'm not worthless!

 

THANKS EVERYONE!!

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All the responses here have been VERY helpful for me! No, I'm not going for any more xian infomercials! :loser:

 

It is helpful to understand the origins of this verse and the twisted version. Yes, we must create a need inorder to sell something. Even if I have to remind myself 50 times a day 365 days a year, I'm going to remind myself I'm not worthless!

 

THANKS EVERYONE!!

 

Sure about that? If you call within the next 30 minutes, you can get the Farter, the Scum, and the Holah Spook, all for just $19.95! Supplies are limited, so call now!

 

In all seriousness, you're on the right track! I tend to have to remind myself of the same, just to help keep me from straying from the path I'm on back into the weeds and mud of Xianity. But, give yourself enough time, and you'll overcome Xianity more than you think :)

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