Blue Pill or Red Pill?

[trek4fr]

This has probably already been discussed, but I thought it would be fun to reconsider.

 

I sometimes feel that in leaving religion, I've been awakened from the Matrix. I feel like I've left a life of illusion for an existence in the real world. Granted, I no longer have very many of the friends that I had in the Matrix, or a loving social network, or a personal Sky-Daddy that watches over me, or the promise of eternal life. But I do have what I believe to be real life. I suppose that I could be in another Matrix, but I think not.

 

But for those who, like me, have been awakened from the religious Matrix, if you could take the Blue Pill and return to the Matrix, would you?

 

Or would you take the Red Pill and continue to live in the real world without illusions?

 

What do you think and why? 

[disillusioned]

I would never go back.

 

Maybe I was a strange kind of Christian, but I never particularly liked my religion. It was something that I considered to be unquestionably true, but it was a rather uncomfortable and unfortunate truth at best. The first day of my life that I knew true psychological peace was the day I realized that it wasn't true.

 

Christianity offers nothing that I'm interested in. I find it altogether abhorrent. So no, I wouldn't go back.

[MOHO]

Would not take the blue pill.

 

Funny thing about us homo sapiens, eh? We'll take truth over bliss and apparent  happiness any day.

 

It would be nice, however, is some supreme, god-like being would visit and declare everything under control and that it's all going to be OK.

 

As far as xanity goes I'm glad to know that's all a crock of shit. So obviously written by sick minds who wanted to control their world.

[florduh]

If you leave religion for the right reasons, because it doesn't stand up to logical of factual or scientific or historical scrutiny, there's no way you can go back.

 

[disillusioned]

14 minutes ago, florduh said:

If you leave religion for the right reasons, because it doesn't stand up to logical of factual or scientific or historical scrutiny, there's no way you can go back.

 

 

I agree with this, but I think it still might be possible to want to go back.

[florduh]

46 minutes ago, disillusioned said:

 

I agree with this, but I think it still might be possible to want to go back.

Of course, and much in the way I wish there really was a Santa Claus to bring me that bike on Christmas morning. 

[trek4fr]

Another analogy that comes to mind is Captain Christopher Pike in Star Trek "The Menagerie". Physically damaged by radiation, but with a healthy mind, he is confined to a wheelchair, unable to speak. Spock helps him return to the planet TalosIV where the Talosians can create in his mind the perfect existence. He gets his old girlfriend back. He gets a life. But it is all in his head. And he knows it. Yet he chooses it because he doesn't feel that his "real" life was a life at all.

 

I'm in no way suggesting that we ex-Christians have a bleak or somber or depressed outlook on life. Probably most of us are happier and more at peace now. To me, living in accordance with nature (not super-nature) is very fulfilling. And many of us wouldn't want to live in a cage, no matter how gilded it may be. But I do know that some return to their faith, for various reasons that probably only they know. I suppose it comes down to what one wants out of life.

[Margee]

I like knowing the truth now. That truth is that I believe all religion is man-made. 

 

But if I had a choice to go to a building once a week (around 1 pm! lol) where everyone in the room just accepts the mystery of how we got here; a place that played awesome music and had dancing and singing and a message on how to love one another or give a motivational talk on life....that's what I would love.

(That's the Yellow pill!  )

[Margee]

18 hours ago, trek4fr said:

Another analogy that comes to mind is Captain Christopher Pike in Star Trek "The Menagerie". Physically damaged by radiation, but with a healthy mind, he is confined to a wheelchair, unable to speak. Spock helps him return to the planet TalosIV where the Talosians can create in his mind the perfect existence. He gets his old girlfriend back. He gets a life. But it is all in his head. And he knows it. Yet he chooses it because he doesn't feel that his "real" life was a life at all.

 

1

 

I loved the above.^ This is actually how I live much of my life. I call it, ''Let's Play Pretend''. For instance, if I am feeling really stressed I play 'pretend' that I'm not stressed. I ask myself, ''If you weren't stressed, what would you do different right now and how would you feel''? Then I try to drop all the worry and go do something that makes me feel good and the stress seems to leave my body. Or I ask myself, ''what is the worst thing that can happen''? Then I play the worst that could happen in my mind and figure out what I would do. This has actually helped me makes some 'plan b's' for my life. I got some fears I'm trying this with right now. In many ways, it's like changing your own reality and it helps me a lot. I despise the things that go on in this world and have almost stopped listening to any news and try to limit 'facebook' because I know now, that the only thing I can do in this world is to try and love the people I meet and treat them good. I feel so bad for the world and if I had a magic wand, I would change a lot of things...but I know I can't.  So in a way, I had to detach from the 'real' world because it brings me too much depression. I won't be good for anyone if I'm depressed.

 

Thanks for posting that.

[MOHO]

37 minutes ago, Margee said:

I know now, that the only thing I can do in this world is to try and love the people I meet and treat them good.

 

Just think if everyone on the planet actually did this.

[☆ DarkBishop ☆]

Hey Trek,

     Yeah this has been discussed before. But it is a very true analogy. I can say that I would not want to live a lie. But the only reason I would want to go back would be to get away from the occasional headache of being a non religious person around a dense (in more than one sense of the word) population of believers. I really love my family and really love my wife and have gotten to the point that I wish i had kept all my findings ,when i deconverted to myself, and not worried her with them. I've actually started expressing some of my views on my facebook with a post that one of my friends made on the flat earthers. I almost got in a biblical debate over whether or not the bible portrays a flat earth creation (which it does). i just kinda made the statement that it is ridiculous but in their defense the bible does portray a flat earth so they are just trying to hang in there and have faith in god's word. I should of known better. I figured someone would be disturbed by that statement and sure enough someone did LOL. but anyway. I ended it fairly quickly and wished the faith and happiness with there beliefs. 

       Anyway, getting off my rabbit trail and back to the topic at hand. I would not ever want to go back to my former ignorance. Although it would of made my life a bit easier the past year or so, I am glad I know the truth now. However I do, as i said before, wish that I hadn't brought the hammer down like i did with my wife. But things are getting better. I'm hoping it was just a matter of adjusting. So maybe in the end honesty will prove to be the best policy :-)

 

Dark Bishop