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Raised Catholic, it didn't stick
January 19, 2016 at 4:11 am
It's weird for me to think about this again, but when I was younger I was even an Altar Boy. I tried to make myself accept all this stuff in a serious literal way. One day though, I think the literal interpretation of all this stuff, kind of like every screw up being recorded in a ledger to be used against me, and of finally the ultimate threat of Hell. I think internally I finally made a choice that I just couldn't live like that and afterward the grip of religion on me gradually loosened.
The whole thing is a pain in the ass because the only person I've told is my brother. He still thinks there must be a God, but he is more of a Deist I guess. My dad oddly enough never went to Church, but my mom was and still is hardcore "Irish" Catholic so I've never told her I doubt religion and have even gone to some religious things like Christmas Mass out of politeness even though I honestly think it's all so boring.
Curiously, I think this has also resulted in me moving away from Christian Conservatism. That's partly why I signed up to a site like this to hear diverse and skeptical opinions. I live in America and when I see serious candidates like Rick Santorum it freaks me out. Or anytime in politics I hear the rhetoric that this is a Christian nation and if I don't like it I should leave. Sometimes, I do consider going Expatriate if I could ever afford a move like that.
As for beliefs now, I feel I'm kind of a Sam Harris type of Atheist. I have a spiritual side and see value in things like Secular Meditation.
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RE: Raised Catholic, it didn't stick
January 19, 2016 at 4:12 am
Welcome to the forums!
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RE: Raised Catholic, it didn't stick
January 19, 2016 at 4:19 am
(January 19, 2016 at 4:12 am)Bella Morte Wrote: Welcome to the forums!
Thanks.
I'll also add that when the economy tanked, I took a job as a Truck Driver so I had a lot of time on my hands to listen to podcasts or download videos from YouTube as well as read when I was parked. Christopher Hitchens tore into religion so fiercely and that had a lot of impact. I also read God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything along with Dawkins' The God Delusion.
Exposure to these voices thanks to internet based media was very helpful for picking all this stuff apart.
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RE: Raised Catholic, it didn't stick
January 19, 2016 at 4:20 am
welcome matey....
No God, No fear.
Know God, Know fear.
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RE: Raised Catholic, it didn't stick
January 19, 2016 at 4:22 am
Welcome to the forums, Videodrome. I'm guessing you've watched that movie, haven't you? Or is your username referring to another thing?
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RE: Raised Catholic, it didn't stick
January 19, 2016 at 4:22 am
Welcome, nice to meet you! Sorry you were put through that as a kid. I know parent are generally doing what they think is best, but they still put their kids into cages that they have to then break out of or be forever trapped in fantasy.
You'll hear all kinds of opinions here! Most of the regular atheists are sceptics in my experience.
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RE: Raised Catholic, it didn't stick
January 19, 2016 at 4:38 am
(January 19, 2016 at 4:22 am)Irrational Wrote: Welcome to the forums, Videodrome. I'm guessing you've watched that movie, haven't you? Or is your username referring to another thing?
Yeah, it's my favorite movie.
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RE: Raised Catholic, it didn't stick
January 19, 2016 at 4:42 am
(January 19, 2016 at 4:38 am)Videodrome Wrote: (January 19, 2016 at 4:22 am)Irrational Wrote: Welcome to the forums, Videodrome. I'm guessing you've watched that movie, haven't you? Or is your username referring to another thing?
Yeah, it's my favorite movie.
I found it a bit confusing tbh. But it was a nice watch at least.
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RE: Raised Catholic, it didn't stick
January 19, 2016 at 5:15 am
(January 19, 2016 at 4:42 am)Irrational Wrote: (January 19, 2016 at 4:38 am)Videodrome Wrote: Yeah, it's my favorite movie.
I found it a bit confusing tbh. But it was a nice watch at least.
I think it's an interesting commentary on the relationship between humans and media technology. Some think it was ahead of it's time and saw the Internet and Virtual Reality coming.
In general though, I really enjoy mega-surreal film. Like the really weird stuff from David Lynch.
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RE: Raised Catholic, it didn't stick
January 19, 2016 at 5:20 am
 from Tennessee!
I have a similar story. Except my hyper religious mother knows I'm an atheist. And I don't go to church when I visit. So basically it's all different.
"There remain four irreducible objections to religious faith: that it wholly misrepresents the origins of man and the cosmos, that because of this original error it manages to combine the maximum servility with the maximum of solipsism, that it is both the result and the cause of dangerous sexual repression, and that it is ultimately grounded on wish-thinking." ~Christopher Hitchens, god is not Great
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