I was raised christian. I now believe though that God doesn't really exist, never did.

Where I live this belief is really not tolerated or accepted. In fact I have a church at BOTH ends of my road.

While I'm 95% certain there is no God 5% of me is still like what if there is and I die and go to Hell? But then if a God loved you so much why would he allow you to burn in hell.

Last night a friend looked at me like I had 2 heads because I told her I don't believe I will see God in Heaven because he doesn't exist. Her response was there is proof he walked the earth.

At that point her boyfriend stopped the conversation and changed the subject.

How do you prove or disprove that God existed?


What do you believe happens after you die?

I think all the great things about Heaven are lies. They are made up to help soothe the loss of a loved one that way you are comforted by the fact that they aren't gone forever.

I lost someone very close to me a few years ago in a very tragic way. That is what started my thoughts turning on this process.

First, if there was a god how could he allow such misery? God never gives you more than you can handle, that's bs.

Second, I got to thinking there is no way anyone will see her again in heaven I start really thinking that through and I just think that it is not possible period. That's like make believe, fantasy crap.

I also had a Hospice worker tell me, when religious patients die they go peacefully. Non religuous patients fight it and die scared. She said it doesn't matter what religion they are, any religion they all go peacefully and comforted by their beliefs.

Which makes me think, so every religion has different beliefs but they will all get you to Heaven because they are all correct? That can't be possible either.

I know I'm rambling and my thoughts are unorganized, sorry.

Any advice for me?

Theists are particularly prone to confirmation bias, like that hospice worker who doesn't know her ass from her elbow. Patients in hospice care are heavily medicated. When my dad died - and he was far from religious - he did didn't know what planet he was on...or much care.

God is an irrelevancy in the world. Religion, however, does exist to the detriment of mankind. God is merely the product that religion sells. The bad news is that you have to work this out for yourself...there are no shortcuts.

If there is no evidence for the existence of god, that does not mean god exists because there is no evidence he does not exist. There is no evidence that the Easter Bunny does not exist, but we know damn well that the Easter Bunny is not real. Theists are fond of not only shifting the burden of proof, but they are also fond of creating insane apologists arguments that make absolutely no sense.

After death, there is nothing. Just as there was nothing before we were born, there will be nothingness after we die. Theists have this irrational fear of nothingness that makes them believe in an equally irrational after life.

Once you understand that religion uses fear to keep its adherents tethered to false ideas, you can more easily break those silly theistic chians weighing you down.

Can you suggest any good books for me to read?

You cannot prove or disprove the existence of a god(s). This is futile. You can only evaluate the available evidence and come to your own conclusion. So continue to evaluate the evidence. Read the Bible critically. Read scientific books critically. Formulate a body of evidence, and see where that points you. The worst way to defend your position is to use someone else's opinions/thoughts. It is easy to do when you have your own.

I listened to This American Life the other day called "Death and Taxes." There was a hospice nurse on there giving her opinions. There are certain things that all patients go through in the process of dying. I am willing to go out on a limb and say the person you talked to had a bit of confirmation bias. She sees religious patients go through death rattle, and it is part of the process, then sees a non-religious patient go through the same thing, and it's a struggle. Bottom line---doesn't it strike you as ridiculous that ALL religious patients in hospice, especially the younger ones, aren't ever afraid of death?

For xtianity - "Jesus Interrupted" by Bart Ehrman.

For religion in general - "God is Not Great" by Chris Hitchings.

Religion exists to provide a crutch for those who cannot face the fact that they will die. They find the idea of life after death more comforting than the idea that when you die the machine stops, everything (for you) ends and that's it.
I was asked by a theist what I thought would happen to me when I die, I told him that I would cease to exist except as a memory for those who knew me, he could not understand why this did not scare me. (The process of dying may well be terrifying, painful and humiliating, but being dead is no worry, before I existed I was dead and I had no problem then.)

And, of course, what could any discussion of religion be without Kissing Hank's Ass?

The bible is pretty poor literature even in terms of fantasy. Fantasy is my genre by choice, but the bible is beyond dull. It would be an alright book if it ever received a remake, and people didn't take it as anything more than a collection of fantasy short stories.

I don't dislike Christians because of their imagination. I dislike the fanatics for not being able to tell the difference between fantasy and reality, combined with attemped brainwashing of others.

(May 4, 2014 at 11:45 am)aces Wrote: I was raised christian. I now believe though that God doesn't really exist, never did.

Where I live this belief is really not tolerated or accepted. In fact I have a church at BOTH ends of my road.

While I'm 95% certain there is no God 5% of me is still like what if there is and I die and go to Hell? But then if a God loved you so much why would he allow you to burn in hell.

Last night a friend looked at me like I had 2 heads because I told her I don't believe I will see God in Heaven because he doesn't exist. Her response was there is proof he walked the earth.

At that point her boyfriend stopped the conversation and changed the subject.

How do you prove or disprove that God existed?


What do you believe happens after you die?

I think all the great things about Heaven are lies. They are made up to help soothe the loss of a loved one that way you are comforted by the fact that they aren't gone forever.

I lost someone very close to me a few years ago in a very tragic way. That is what started my thoughts turning on this process.

First, if there was a god how could he allow such misery? God never gives you more than you can handle, that's bs.

Second, I got to thinking there is no way anyone will see her again in heaven I start really thinking that through and I just think that it is not possible period. That's like make believe, fantasy crap.

I also had a Hospice worker tell me, when religious patients die they go peacefully. Non religuous patients fight it and die scared. She said it doesn't matter what religion they are, any religion they all go peacefully and comforted by their beliefs.

Which makes me think, so every religion has different beliefs but they will all get you to Heaven because they are all correct? That can't be possible either.

I know I'm rambling and my thoughts are unorganized, sorry.

Any advice for me?

Not all religious constructs lead to heaven. Hinduism, for example, favors reincarnation. If you're an asshole Hindu then in your next life you will be a roach or a fly or if you are just a total asshole then you will be Jerry Falwell for the next three lives. All religions can't be right because they are saying different things. However, there is no violation of any principle of logic tin saying that they are all false.

The hospice worker is full of it. She is just "seeing" what she would like to be the case. Not what is really going on.

God -- if the thing exists outside of the imaginations of human beings -- obviously doesn't care what happens on this planet.