I was born in Ireland, baptized, confirmed, took the host which represents the body of a 2000 year old dead Jew, supposedly. I was confirmed when I was 12 after being rejected as an altarboy for stealing and drinking the simulated blood of Christ. Confirmation was nothing but a chance to glean some money from neighbours and relatives, I remember the girls in thier little wedding dresses being dragged around the neighbourhood by their mothers, hands out. I was spared that humiliation and bought myself a Honda 50 with my haul. One has to choose a saint´s name as part of the ritual and I had just recently seen The Omen, guess what saint I found.... St. Damian, the saint of lepers and chose that. Not that I believed in the Devil either, I wanted to get a laugh out of it and did. I knew there was no God at 10, and like Santa Claus, I wanted to believe it but couldn´t, same way I can´t pretend to be in love with someone.When all the cases of child abuse and torture came out in Ireland in the 80´s, I started to truely hate the Catholic Church, their fucking nuns would never stop to give me a lift in their big cars in the rain, they didn´t know I was an atheist. I forgot all about religion for the following 20 years. It is only lately that I have been tormented by the faithful and the fanaticism that you see everywhere. How people say faith is a wonderful thing, the more you doubt, the more you have to hang on to your faith. I never needed all of Dawkin´s arguments but since reading his and Christopher Hitchen´s books, I have become somewhat of a fanatic antitheist myself. I revile religion and the priests and rabbis and theologians (who should know better) who continue to peddle this shit on young and old. Preying on the former´s innocence and the latter´s fear of the great nothingness. Where can I sign up? I wanna be part of the fight against theocracy. Just because it´s tradition, doesn´t make it alright. I´m not even going to lie to my kids about Santa. Hundreds of years after the enlightenment and here we are, wasting time and energy on this. I am consumed by a simmering hatred, I want to hit back[/b][/size][/font]

I agree with you 100%. Good luck.

Simmering hatred would be a fine name for a band!
Welcome....best introduction message I've read since I joined October last year.
Look forward to your contributions.

Welcome to the forums Moonman,

I don't really understand hatred of religion. The way I see it, where there are people there is action and depending on where you sit you will view it as good or bad.

In Portland the churches bring blankets, food, and water to the poor down on Burnside.

In another part of Portland there are religious nuts protesting Planned Parenthood (an organization that performs abortions along with many other services including providing free birth control for those that can't afford to pay) by holding up terrible pictures of mutilated babies.

Good and bad depending on your perspective.

Holding on to hate is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.

This should be interesting,
Rhizo

The problem was never religion, it was and is fanaticism. You sound a little passionate. What others believe is none of your business.

Thank you,
-Pip

You sound very screwed up Moonman. Welcome!

(July 28, 2009 at 9:18 pm)Pippy Wrote: The problem was never religion, it was and is fanaticism. You sound a little passionate. What others believe is none of your business.

Thank you,
-Pip

For once we agree Pip;with the proviso that they stay out of my face.


However, I was raised Irish Catholic,perhaps the nastiest,most primitive,most bigoted, superstitious and plain hateful form of Catholicism ever invented. I can sympathise with Moonman.I still feel that way about the bunch of sadists,incompetents,mental defectives and diverse religious neurotics who were put in charge of my education under the cunning disguise of saintly men.(De La Salle brothers)

My contempt for those gobshites extends to the catholic church as an organisation and its top minions,but not all of its members. I am not anti religion but I am anti organised religion,which I see as an unlanced carbuncle on the arse of civilisation.

(July 29, 2009 at 6:25 am)padraic Wrote: I am anti organised religion, which I see as an unlanced carbuncle on the arse of civilisation.

LMAO Nice one !

Yes, very well put.

I don't like orginized religion and its control at all myself. They also lobbied to affect my education. But I cannot take up any mindset that involves dehumanizing others. I hate a lot of people I have never met, but I am not allowed to act on it. To maintain my moral high ground, I can't act on hatred. I might be wrong about my moral absolutes...

But I have a deep respect for the belief in god, and theism in general. No religion, yes god...

Thanks,
-Pip

ah yes! What a wondefully Irish and accurate way to decribe it Padraic. I mean there is no way that one can defend religion. It´s a no-brainer. Giving food to the poor is a way to proselytize, missionaries don´t go out to the depths of Africa to save lives, they wants their souls. A secular society should take care of its own without expecting payback in the ´afterlife´. Yes I despise the faithdull (nice typo) and yes, it is my business what people believe because it infects reason and ¨poisons everything¨ I am so happy to have somewhere to vent, thanks for the comments

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[quote='padraic' pid='24244' dateline='1248863146']
I am not anti religion but I am anti organised religion

I don´t see any difference, sounds like a bit of a tautology. I mean to say that if someone holds a private, spiritual belief then that´s what it is. By definition religion is organized. Love the unlanced carbuncle analogy by the way.

I´m new to the forum formula and should probably reply to each individual comment however, in answer to Rhizomorph: I first heard, and liked, that sound bite in an AA meeting about the poison. It´s true and that´s why I joined this forum; to try to channel my frustrations. I´m a vicious kind of guy as opposed to virtuous and I allow myself these outlets athough I know they do me no good