Hello, I need help =(

[JohnDG]

Hi my name is John D. Garcia, im 19 and ive only recently accepted the fact that i am a non-believer if not athiest. I have always been told to believe in god and to be a good person for him because we are his servents. Perhaps the reason i lost my faith (as my friend puts it) is because of the tough life i have been forced to live, and a large number of churches and religions i was forced to participate in or respect. Growing up i was forced along with my sister and cousin to endure sometimes unspeakable atrocities, ive had almost every home, every thing ive owned taken from me more than 7 times i can remember. Ive had friends and family betray, beat and rob me. Ive lived by myself at the ages of 9, 14, and 18(twice abandoned). My dads been in prison my whole life, my mom is a gold digging whore who wants nothing to do wtih me and my sister (who is becoming like her). To make it all short, ive had a fucked up life and i find the fairy tale of jesus and god very unbelievable. And if there so happens to be a god, and a heaven and hell. I would much rather go to hell because i would atleast understand why the devil would treat me so horribly. For a long while i had a shred of hope that their was a god and a better place, but after reading some of the bible, listening to people talk about god and how great he is, i realized its all just wishful thinking, i mightaswell believe in the tooth fairy. After moving from the state of Arizona to California this year, ive finaly found a place i can continue my education and live comfertably without worry, the only thing is, the people i live with are very religous and are under the pretense that i believe in god. I feel trapt and alone because it seems i can't escape religion and i dont want to lose a home again. Should i tell them? or is it better to live a lie, than alone?

[Jax]

Hi my name is John D. Garcia, im 19 and ive only recently accepted the fact that i am a non-believer if not athiest.

Hi John, welcome to the forums, it's quite a friendly place here from what I experienced.

I have always been told to believe in god and to be a good person for him because we are his servents.

Servants? That's a good way to put it. It's be good or go to hell right?

Perhaps the reason i lost my faith (as my friend puts it) is because of the tough life i have been forced to live, and a large number of churches and religions i was forced to participate in or respect.

I know how you feel. When I was still a child, I was made to pray plenty of times, and I tell you, it wasn't good for me. I disliked it so much.

Growing up i was forced along with my sister and cousin to endure sometimes unspeakable atrocities, ive had almost every home, every thing ive owned taken from me more than 7 times i can remember. Ive had friends and family betray, beat and rob me. Ive lived by myself at the ages of 9, 14, and 18(twice abandoned). My dads been in prison my whole life, my mom is a gold digging whore who wants nothing to do wtih me and my sister (who is becoming like her)

hock:
Damn, that sucks! I can't imagine how you coped with all of that. I thought my childhood was bad, but when I saw that, it's terrible what happened to you.

To make it all short, ive had a fucked up life and i find the fairy tale of jesus and god very unbelievable. And if there so happens to be a god, and a heaven and hell. I would much rather go to hell because i would atleast understand why the devil would treat me so horribly. For a long while i had a shred of hope that their was a god and a better place, but after reading some of the bible, listening to people talk about god and how great he is, i realized its all just wishful thinking, i mightaswell believe in the tooth fairy.

You're not alone, I agree with this very much. My family isn't as great when I was a kid. There was many family crisis and I hoped that they would all go away. But more kept popping up. My mother left my dad because he was a drunken, angry gambler who would abuse me if I pissed him off. Heck, he even punched me in the face once when I was 6 years old. The sad thing is, I was stuck with him because he wanted money from the govt which was for me. >_>
I grew independant at the age of 10, and started to look after myself, and I thought to myself, if there was a god, and he was all loving, why am I going through this?

After moving from the state of Arizona to California this year, ive finaly found a place i can continue my education and live comfertably without worry, the only thing is, the people i live with are very religous and are under the pretense that i believe in god. I feel trapt and alone because it seems i can't escape religion and i dont want to lose a home again. Should i tell them? or is it better to live a lie, than alone?

I'll be honest, I don't think you should tell them that religion isn't real. It might stir up a conflict. And you don't want that do you. As long as they don't force it down your throat, it should be all fine.

And again, welcome to the forums.
(Damn, this is the longest post I made I think. )

[Minimalist]

Should i tell them? or is it better to live a lie, than alone?

Ultimately a very personal question that no one can decide for you. Not all theists are WBC-class nutbags. Most are really just flawed human beings who would rather pretend that there is some fairy godfather looking out for them than face the fact that they are on their own. In a sense not too different from what you are describing, except you are dealing with reality not fantasy.

Consider though: Would you go out of your way to tell a 3 year old that Santa does not exist? You are perfectly capable of maintaining the illusion of Santa for the child while knowing yourself that it is total bullshit. It does not hurt you and it keeps the child quiet. Similarly, if these people are not sacrificing virgins or stoning people who work on Sunday it seems that their delusions are relatively harmless. 'Talk is cheap' as the saying goes and if all that is required of you is that you not tell them that they are out of their fucking minds it seems as if you should be able to handle that considering what you have already survived.

[LastPoet]

If they are zealous about their beliefs, just stay away from religious talk and lie if you must, afterall, survival is our first goal. Until you get some independence its better to do so.

BTW, hope you find solace among us

[Violet]

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I 'need' help too. Lots of help. And luckily I am rich, so I can buy what help I need ^_^

Aerzia says: Hey wage slave! Yes, You there!
Wage slave: wha-?
Aerzia says: take out my trash and I'll drop you a twenty and give you one of these six pizzas!
Wage slave: ALL RIGHT! XD

Sadly, i don't live near the Mexican border

Hi my name is John D. Garcia, im 19 and ive only recently accepted the fact that i am a non-believer if not athiest.

Hello, I am a psychotic individual that wouldn't care how old she is only people make laws based upon age.

I have always been told to believe in god and to be a good person for him because we are his servents.

By whom?

Perhaps the reason i lost my faith (as my friend puts it) is because of the tough life i have been forced to live, and a large number of churches and religions i was forced to participate in or respect. Growing up i was forced along with my sister and cousin to endure sometimes unspeakable atrocities, ive had almost every home, every thing ive owned taken from me more than 7 times i can remember.

Nobody forces you to live that is not named yourself. Death is so easy to manage that one has to deliberately avoid it often enough.

Every atrocity can be spoken of... please explain what type of atrocities you have had to endure And how have you managed to regain your homes so many times if they were continuously taken away from you?

Ive had friends and family betray, beat and rob me.

Hopefully you learned to better pick your friends and avoid your family then?

Ive lived by myself at the ages of 9, 14, and 18(twice abandoned).

Living by yourself at 18 is... kinda expected? Do you live in some strange country where the age of majority is 21 or some such? 0.o I thought arizona was 18 0.o

My dads been in prison my whole life, my mom is a gold digging whore who wants nothing to do wtih me and my sister (who is becoming like her).

What do you mean by 'gold digging'?

To make it all short, ive had a fucked up life and i find the fairy tale of jesus and god very unbelievable. And if there so happens to be a god, and a heaven and hell. I would much rather go to hell because i would atleast understand why the devil would treat me so horribly.

I somehow don't think that religion is even worth the time to concern yourself with...? I'm not sure where you are going with this 0.o

For a long while i had a shred of hope that their was a god and a better place, but after reading some of the bible, listening to people talk about god and how great he is, i realized its all just wishful thinking, i mightaswell believe in the tooth fairy.

Why would you believe in the tooth fairy though? I'm still lost 0.o

After moving from the state of Arizona to California this year, ive finaly found a place i can continue my education and live comfertably without worry, the only thing is, the people i live with are very religous and are under the pretense that i believe in god. I feel trapt and alone because it seems i can't escape religion and i dont want to lose a home again. Should i tell them? or is it better to live a lie, than alone?

You don't need help... as you've gotten out of what is likely a not very fun life, and say you can live comfortably now. Absolutely do not tell them that you are an atheist, it is not to your advantage. Better to live a comfortable lie than to live a depraved and desperate truth.

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TL: DR? Don't tell them that you are an atheist.

[Ace Otana]

After moving from the state of Arizona to California this year, ive finaly found a place i can continue my education and live comfertably without worry, the only thing is, the people i live with are very religous and are under the pretense that i believe in god. I feel trapt and alone because it seems i can't escape religion and i dont want to lose a home again. Should i tell them? or is it better to live a lie, than alone?

Ever thought about moving over to England? Religion seems to be the minority here. Mostly atheists.
Quite secular. I could spend 5 whole years wandering around my town and never hear about religion even once. I only hear of it online. And by the sounds of it, it's shit. Move over here!


You're in quite a predicament. I don't know where in the states, you could go to be free from religion.
You might need to lay low on your views for the time being. Until you have some real independence that is.

[HeyItsZeus]

I'm more than willing to add you to my [internet] family.

[JohnDG]

Thank you guys for the advice, it's just hard living the way i am right now and religion doesnt make it any easier. I don't think i will tell them for the time being, although im going to stay away from the church as much as possible.

[Cinjin]

the only thing is, the people i live with are very religous and are under the pretense that i believe in god. I feel trapt and alone because it seems i can't escape religion and i dont want to lose a home again. Should i tell them? or is it better to live a lie, than alone?

John, we all have to endure religious people ... that, sadly, is never going to change. The escape is to surround yourself with like-minded people whenever you can. A weekend group or a co-worker who feels like you do. Think of it this way. A gay man is alone in the world because he knows the larger portion of society is straight. So, it is on his shoulders to seek out others like him. You have to do the same - a cool group of atheists is not going to knock on your door one night and rescue you from the crazies ... you have to rescue yourself.

Stand up man!