Well when in doubt, consult the Hitch


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA55jGyq2C8

Good 'ol revisionist history.

I think your best bet is to go to college somewhere far away. Me leaving the house was the best thing that could happen to my relationship with my mother. I love her, but I'd probably kill someone if I had to live with her.

Prophecies are fun because they're intentionally vague.  You can take literal 'evidence', metaphorical 'evidence', or a combination thereof and always be right.  I really like the ones that hinge on there being turmoil in the Middle East.  When has that region not been in turmoil?

But, yeah, your mom, frankly, sounds dangerous.  Mental illness is real, and has nothing to do with satan, sin, monsters, demons, ghosts, etc.  They're usually the combination of stress (gee, I wonder where you encounter stress?) and chemical imbalances.  There's no judgement involved.  You're not a bad or flawed or cursed or evil person for having one, and seeking treatment doesn't mean you're weak or giving into satan or whatever other bullshit she may or may not spout.  Indeed, recognizing it and trying to fix it the right way are really positive steps you've taken.  A lot of people who suffer from mental illness don't even get that far, so, for real, kudos to you for taking those steps.

Steel hit the nail on the head - getting out of the house, whenever you'll be able to permanently, is really going to help you out a lot.  Having the agency to make your own decisions and the freedom to be yourself is, literally, life changing.  Until then, just try to hang on, and spend more time with your dad.  He seems like the only semi-rational person among the rest of your household.

(February 10, 2016 at 7:00 pm)KevinM1 Wrote: Prophecies are fun because they're intentionally vague.  You can take literal 'evidence', metaphorical 'evidence', or a combination thereof and always be right.  I really like the ones that hinge on there being turmoil in the Middle East.  When has that region not been in turmoil?

But, yeah, your mom, frankly, sounds dangerous.  Mental illness is real, and has nothing to do with satan, sin, monsters, demons, ghosts, etc.  They're usually the combination of stress (gee, I wonder where you encounter stress?) and chemical imbalances.  There's no judgement involved.  You're not a bad or flawed or cursed or evil person for having one, and seeking treatment doesn't mean you're weak or giving into satan or whatever other bullshit she may or may not spout.  Indeed, recognizing it and trying to fix it the right way are really positive steps you've taken.  A lot of people who suffer from mental illness don't even get that far, so, for real, kudos to you for taking those steps.

Steel hit the nail on the head - getting out of the house, whenever you'll be able to permanently, is really going to help you out a lot.  Having the agency to make your own decisions and the freedom to be yourself is, literally, life changing.  Until then, just try to hang on, and spend more time with your dad.  He seems like the only semi-rational person among the rest of your household.

Yea, Mom says "Israel became a state in an hour" and she doesn't know they didn't mean that LITERALLY. I guess she forgot the bible passages about stoning gays, hating women, and overall moral wrongs.

My mom 'forgets' to schedule my appointments, so I must do it myself or get my dad to.
Shes asked me to stop going because she says its "Polluting" me. They mean well, but they don't do well.

It makes me sick your mum is more concerned with scoring points for religion than your wellbeing. This is just how religion poisons morality.

Bible prophecies are a load of shit. In many cases, the "prophecy" is even written in the same book, by the same author, as the "miraculous event". This is what is otherwise known as storytelling. Those that aren't written right away are either vague or inevitable, or even just don't fit at all. It's a complete load of garbage.

And even if some authors in the bible happened to know some specific stuff before it happened (they didn't) then that doesn't tell us how they knew it. It could be a lucky guess, it could be a carefully calculated estimate, maybe they had insider knowledge, or it could have been a magic tree talking to them... just because the authors say "I got the message from God", that doesn't make it so. Just like a magician who fooled you with a card trick doesn't get to say, "I used dark magic from Mars to do that!" The burden of proof is on them to show this separate claim is actually true.

There is also the issue of self fulfilling prophecy. When people are aware of a prophecy, they may work to make it happen. Especially if it's in their interest to do so. This kind of shit keeps horoscope peddlers in business no doubt.

If you're still worried about this issue, please let me know, and I'll do some digging for more specific demonstrations of the crapness of "biblical prophecies".

Hitch me with your best shot:

http://youtu.be/iV6xgLTnmGk

GD, Watch as many YouTube videos as you can on the 4 horsemen.
Especially Hitch, Harris and Dawkins.

Then watch anything, everything by ND Tyson.
I was never religious, and I didn't watch them to cement my atheism.
I watched them because of love learning stuff.

The most amazing stuff was all the nova docos on evolution, DNA, the the of life, etc.
They're a must watch.

In a month, you'll be listening to mum and thinking to yourself: lady, you are an ignoramus! He he.

(February 8, 2016 at 6:55 pm)GeneralDog Wrote: I came here a few days ago saying I had converted from Christian to Atheist, but was doubting a lot. I also mentioned I had OCD which may be contributing to the problem
....
Wat Do?

Simple. There are members like me, and by that I mean there's me. Simply spit out this doubt and I'll refute it for you using scholarly opinion and not riffraff.

Dudes.... what gives? Make him watch youtube videos of William Lane Craig!
But the point is for you to watch them and actually understand everything he says. Everything! Not just the crap he goes for as a way of making it sound a bit better.
And, once you understand it all, notice how vacuous all apologetics really is.

(February 11, 2016 at 6:15 am)pocaracas Wrote: Dudes.... what gives? Make him watch youtube videos of William Lane Craig!
But the point is for you to watch them and actually understand everything he says. Everything! Not just the crap he goes for as a way of making it sound a bit better.
And, once you understand it all, notice how vacuous all apologetics really is.

I understand them fully well. But i get doubt/anxiety and it is bothering me. Ive always thought evolution is true. But wasnt an atheist. It was easy at first to come to terms with there being no god, but now ocd is making it a battle.

Still havent heard from my mother about my appointment.

I've had what sounds to me like very similar problems with stress and anxiety, I've reached points where I felt and feared that God perhaps did exist, though the reasonable side of myself knew it did not; you need to try to keep in mind that those feelings are a result of current stresses in your life that are affecting your already emotionally precarious state, which is causing you psychological strain; it's not God trying to communicate with you, it's stress and mental illness, which does not a good cocktail make.