Religion is Opression

[ManMadeGod]

I did not become an atheist because one day I figured out there was no evidence of God. My life as a Christian was proof enough to me that there is no God. Religion has oppressed me like it has oppressed the world since its inception. I get sick and tired of reading on facebook, posts like "God has blessed me with a new job" or "Every one say a prayer to God that I pass my final tomorrow." Just stop! You are wasting your time! God ain't going to get you hired, and God isn't going to get you through that exam. You will get that job because you worked for it, you will pass that test because you studied for it. We have wasted so much time on something that isn't there, and for what? People go to church and donate their life's savings to God and what do they get in return? Still working a dead end job, still living under the poverty level, ultimately still doing something they hate doing.

Here's a typical sunday morning as a Southern Baptist:
9 am: Wake up and get all perttied up so people won't judge you 
10 am: Go to Sunday school to Gossip before Church starts
11 am: Church Starts: Preacher talks about how bad homosexuality is for 30 min, spends 15 min telling you to give some money because he needs to pay his bills, spends another 30 min telling you how shitty your life is and every one starts crying and bowing down at the pulpit speaking in tongues and running up and down the aisles.
12 pm: Take your fat ass out to eat and talk shit about every body at Church....
Then if you really couldn't get enough Church starts back up at 6 pm... And you just repeat what you did earlier. Ultimately you end up feeling like shit because you realize you aint living your life the way the bible says and you are worried about spending an eternity in hell with the devil so you spend the night talking to yourself AKA "Praying"...

You have to ask yourself what has this done for me? More than likely it was simply just a waste of your time and added more drama to your life in a very dramatic world. Ultimately, all that praying and spending time in Church is stopping you from doing what you really want to do. You are being oppressed! You are listening to some scum bag that's taking all of your money and spending it on himself to buy that brand new car and suit he pulled up to the church in. You are busting your ass, thinking you are living a life for God but you aren't. You are just a dollar sign to that preacher. I bet there are many preachers out there that don't believe or do a word that they say in Church (I actually know a preacher like that. He has started multiple businesses from his profits made from his Church and one of those is a used car dealership). Its kind of like being a used car salesman. Why do we keep doing this to ourselves?

It was all made for profit and power. Ancient civilizations created these religions to give you a set of rules to live by. To keep you in line. But guess what my friend, you don't need a book to be a good person and have good morals. How about doing good because its the right thing to do? How about truly making this place the heaven it deserves to be in stead of making it hell on earth? Why would a Gay person go to church? They condemn homosexuals like there is no tomorrow. The devil didn't make homosexuality. It just happened because it's natural. It's just what some people like. It's like me preferring Pepsi over Coke, its just my preference. Why do women continue to follow this bull shit? Women have been and still are being oppressed by most of the religions! Christian women think they have to be submissive to their husbands, and just make a bunch of babies and teach them about the good Lord. Some women are forced into marriage. Some women are pressured to keep unborn babies that they know they wont be able to take care of, all because they are worried about what others will think of them. Well if you read the good book it tells you "thou shall not judge". What do Christians do? They judge all the fucking time. The biggest hypocrites I ever seen are Christians! Don't even get me started on women being Muslims.... You have to have some serious issues to convert to Islam, especially as a woman.

My overall point is, we as humans need to drop our ways of the past. All these religions out there were created to oppress us and divide us. Religion generates hate amongst others including racism and bigotry. Why in the hell is the picture of Jesus always a white man? People in the middle east do not look like that! Some one fabricated the story of Jesus Christ and depicted him how they wanted him to be. People want to live by what the good word says....

Romans 13: 1-7 states, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”

If this is the case, how can that crazy lady defend herself that denied the marriage of a Gay couple? She said she lived by God's rules. If homosexual marriage is legal, then it is the law of the land. It is not your place or your right to deny a right that has been granted by the law of the land. H to the Y to the P to the O to the C to the R to the I to the T to the E!!!! Hypocrite!!!!!!!!!! People pick and choose what they want to believe out of the bible because of their own personal tastes. Take a look at this piece of scripture...:

If you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for only six years.  Set him free in the seventh year, and he will owe you nothing for his freedom.  If he was single when he became your slave and then married afterward, only he will go free in the seventh year.  But if he was married before he became a slave, then his wife will be freed with him.  If his master gave him a wife while he was a slave, and they had sons or daughters, then the man will be free in the seventh year, but his wife and children will still belong to his master.  But the slave may plainly declare, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children.  I would rather not go free.'  If he does this, his master must present him before God.  Then his master must take him to the door and publicly pierce his ear with an awl.  After that, the slave will belong to his master forever.  (Exodus 21:2-6 NLT)

Sounds like some ancient shit to me. There are rules for slavery in the word of God. God gives you guide lines on how to own slaves.... I say again, people pick and choose what they want to believe out of the bible. If God was such a loving God, why did he think it was okay to make his children slaves? Where is God when a child dies of starvation, or cancer? Why are there so many diseases and all kinds of shit out there that can kill us? Why did he make a devil to punish us for not obeying him? Doesn't sound very loving to me. Sounds like a very malicious, malevolent God. He certainly isn't patient either. He made a fucking garden with poisonous apples and told his creations not to eat them. He got so mad he decided to just abandon us and let us figure it all out for ourselves while he goes out and makes the rest of the infinite outer space... In the mean time he throws a wrench in our lives by adding disease, wars, and all kinds of other things that can kill us...  I'm laughing at my self hysterically right now for ever believing this. STOP BEING OPPRESSED! Open your eyes and teach the new generation that we as humans messed up. We messed up by creating this fairy tale and brainwashing billions of people.  We messed up by killing each other over something a bunch of guys got together and wrote thousands of years ago. We messed up by trusting preachers and other people in the church that are pedophiles and child molesters. Religion has ruined a lot of lives... Take control and embrace the end of oppression. Freedom of religion was a good idea, freedom from religion will truly set us free.... Thanks for reading!

[maestroanth]

Spread the word brotha!

For me atheism has always been a logical choice rather than a moral or emotional one. I believed and went to church as a kid, but I was a late bloomer for knowing Santa wasn't real because no one told me and I just asked my mom when I was 9 or 10 and she told me the truth. About 6 months later I realized I could use the same reasoning for the bible and it gave me chills, so from that point on I was really an atheist. Keep in mind I called myself "agnostic" for the longest time after that because I wanted to believe something was out there, but knew my wanting it or not doesn't change the reality. Now I just don't play the psychological bullshit games and just call it for what it is....I'm atheist.

I never really considered anything else but science as a valid reason to be atheist, but you bring up some good emotional and moral points I say.......atheists are probably morally more pure then too ironically.

[ManMadeGod]

Thanks maestroanth!
Science is definitely a reason I am atheist as well. My personal experiences with being a Christian pushed me more to being an atheist though. I am definitely interested in learning more about how our species has evolved. Also as a father I do not want my children to be exposed to religion. Growing up in the south, especially as a southern baptist, you hear a lot of racist comments. My kids don't need to be exposed to that. They don't need to judge others for who they are. If we took this mess out of our children's lives the world would be a better place. Will continue to spread the true "good word" lol, you do the same!

[Little Rik]

SCIENCE, SCIENCE AND MORE SCIENCE.
When i say that atheists in most cases rely on science (physical science) to uphold such an atheistic belief i am criticize for saying that.
These critics tell me that not all atheists rely on science.
Well, well.
Here is the evidence where the posters rely on science.  

[Brian37]

Religion exists and I don't see a planet completely free of it. It exists as an evolutionary flaw in human perceptions. So the best we can do without using force as atheists to get rid of it, which would make us just as bad as religion, the best we can do is challenge it verbally and offer people a scientific view of the world.

I am confident we can lead the world to better thinking, but we cannot in the process being humans ourselves think because we hold the "off" position ourselves that makes us above evolution. We are also part of evolution and that evolutionary behavior includes the full range of acts of compassion and cruelty.

I still stand by calling religion poison. Not because you can rid the world of it. I think it should be viewed like a loaded gun, a dormant volcano. You can find points in time where it is not being used, and other times where it is being active. You wont get 7 billion humans to be objective all at the same time. But you can seek a more civil world by fostering the attitude that human rights are a given, but claims as ideas do not deserve blind value outside the ability to make the claim.

[maestroanth]

SCIENCE, SCIENCE AND MORE SCIENCE.
When i say that atheists in most cases rely on science (physical science) to uphold such an atheistic belief i am criticize for saying that.
These critics tell me that not all atheists rely on science.
Well, well.
Here is the evidence where the posters rely on science.  

Ya, I get sick and tired of hearing about people being atheists because they got slapped one to many times by a nun.

[Little Rik]

Religion exists and I don't see a planet completely free of it. It exists as an evolutionary flaw in human perceptions. So the best we can do without using force as atheists to get rid of it, which would make us just as bad as religion, the best we can do is challenge it verbally and offer people a scientific view of the world.

I am confident we can lead the world to better thinking, but we cannot in the process being humans ourselves think because we hold the "off" position ourselves that makes us above evolution. We are also part of evolution and that evolutionary behavior includes the full range of acts of compassion and cruelty.

I still stand by calling religion poison. Not because you can rid the world of it. I think it should be viewed like a loaded gun, a dormant volcano. You can find points in time where it is not being used, and other times where it is being active. You wont get 7 billion humans to be objective all at the same time. But you can seek a more civil world by fostering the attitude that human rights are a given, but claims as ideas do not deserve blind value outside the ability to make the claim.

Sad to see that most atheists still think that non atheists are or must be religious people.
I couldn't agree more that science is a good tool to debunk and knock down religious dogmas
but atheists should really stop there and leave God alone which has really nothing to do with religions.
Atheists kill religions dogmas and religious people kill atheists dogmas.
That's ok for me.
In fact is very good because once atheism and religions are gone spirituality will prevail
and everybody will gain.
You never thought about it Brian, did you?  

[robvalue]

Religion is a tool, and I agree that two of its big uses are oppression and control. Two very ugly features.

The tool itself is not good or bad, it's entirely up to people what they do with it. As books though, horrible shit like the bible and the Quran are more like spiked baseball bats than shovels. They take a lot of modification to use positively. Like being softened with the pillow of secularism taped over it.

[Little Rik]

Religion is a tool, and I agree that two of its big uses are oppression and control. Two very ugly features.

The tool itself is not good or bad, it's entirely up to people what they do with it. As books though, horrible shit like the bible and the Quran are more like spiked baseball bats than shovels. They take a lot of modification to use positively. Like being softened with the pillow of secularism taped over it.

I put religions and atheism on the same despicable level.
When religions get the upper hand they cause enormous damage and
when materialism get the upper hand they also cause enormous damage
as we can see with communism before and capitalism now.
All these systems rely on exploitation so they are both evil.  

[Brian37]

Religion exists and I don't see a planet completely free of it. It exists as an evolutionary flaw in human perceptions. So the best we can do without using force as atheists to get rid of it, which would make us just as bad as religion, the best we can do is challenge it verbally and offer people a scientific view of the world.

I am confident we can lead the world to better thinking, but we cannot in the process being humans ourselves think because we hold the "off" position ourselves that makes us above evolution. We are also part of evolution and that evolutionary behavior includes the full range of acts of compassion and cruelty.

I still stand by calling religion poison. Not because you can rid the world of it. I think it should be viewed like a loaded gun, a dormant volcano. You can find points in time where it is not being used, and other times where it is being active. You wont get 7 billion humans to be objective all at the same time. But you can seek a more civil world by fostering the attitude that human rights are a given, but claims as ideas do not deserve blind value outside the ability to make the claim.

Sad to see that most atheists still think that non atheists are or must be religious people.
I couldn't agree more that science is a good tool to debunk and knock down religious dogmas
but atheists should really stop there and leave God alone which has really nothing to do with religions.
Atheists kill religions dogmas and religious people kill atheists dogmas.
That's ok for me.
In fact is very good because once atheism and religions are gone spirituality will prevail
and everybody will gain.
You never thought about it Brian, did you?  

NO, "spirituality" is a loaded word and meaningless. Now, our species did not crawl out of the caves without questioning social norms.

No I will not leave any spirit, deity, god/gods/or God or supernatural claim alone. The only thing you can get me to agree to is allowing humans by law to make whatever claim they want. Humans have rights, but ideas as claims do not deserve blind value, outside the right to claim it.

FYI atheists are not a gang, scientific method is what confirms the validity of any given claim. "atheist" is not a  dogma, it is not scientific method itself. "atheist" merely means "off" on one claim. There are plenty of atheists with their own woo just as absurd as any old myths of antiquity. I have met atheists who think the universe is it's own thinking entity. I have met others who believe in 9/11 and JFK bullshit conspiracy. I know atheists who worship guns on par with right wing gun nuts. I know atheists who are fans of Dumb Pac Chumphead. "Atheist" is not a dogma. We are not a gang, we are not a political party, we are not an economic view and some do have their own woo and superstitions.

Thor is a god, science didn't leave that alone, we know now lightening is not caused by a god. Poseidon the god of the seas does not create hurricanes. If our species never ditched bad claims, we wouldn't have our modern knowledge of the world.