IF you deconverted in midlife, can you help?

[Angrboda]

The main problem, as I see it, is that Huggy's wittering has nothing to do with the OP.

Yes, I should have reviewed the rules earlier. How do you find who the mods are?

If you want to report something, or have a question, the best thing to do is make a thread in the 'Questions for Staff' forum. Only staff and you can see the posts, and all of staff is immediately alerted to the issue.

See: https://atheistforums.org/forum-80.html

(You can also ask questions of staff in the related thread, Questions, Problems, Suggestions, and Feedback, if the question is of general interest.)

[purplepurpose]

After I realized how insane religion is in the name of God and eternal life, I had strong suicidal thoughts for the first time in my life.

But I will gradually endure for the rest of the life, because I have things here in this life that needs to be done and after that I will have an eternal sleep where there will be no fear, anger and regret.

[Huggy Bear]

The main problem, as I see it, is that Huggy's wittering has nothing to do with the OP.

Maybe you should learn to follow the flow of a conversation, we're like 25 pages removed from the OP.

I tried to fit myself into various belief systems. I've tried to bolster my belief. I asked others to pray for me. I explored. I've prayed, begged, cried, tried, etc., even praying month after month this year: God, please show me who you are, and help me to believe in you. If you are holy, then help me to be like you. If I am resistant to truth, then please help soften my heart and help me to desire to be like you and draw closer to you.

Can you honestly say you've followed the simple instructions laid out by the bible, of which there are only two?

[Dragonfly]

The main problem, as I see it, is that Huggy's wittering has nothing to do with the OP.

Maybe you should learn to follow the flow of a conversation, we're like 25 pages removed from the OP.

You've deliberately hijacked a thread. Maybe you should review the rules. I am the OP, and though things have improved a lot since my initial post, I still need to hear from people here who actually want to help with my original post.

[Mystic]

Maybe you should learn to follow the flow of a conversation, we're like 25 pages removed from the OP.

You've deliberately hijacked a thread. Maybe you should review the rules. I am the OP, and though things have improved a lot since my initial post, I still need to hear from people here who actually want to help with my original post.

Stick to hope, despair is a dead end.

[Astreja]

The main problem, as I see it, is that Huggy's wittering has nothing to do with the OP.

Maybe you should learn to follow the flow of a conversation, we're like 25 pages removed from the OP.

Reported.

[Dragonfly]

You've deliberately hijacked a thread. Maybe you should review the rules. I am the OP, and though things have improved a lot since my initial post, I still need to hear from people here who actually want to help with my original post.

Stick to hope, despair is a dead end.

Thanks, Mystic. Although I don't agree with your beliefs, you're a good guy.

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After I realized how f up religion is in the name of God and eternal life, I had strong suicidal thoughts for the first time in my life.

But I will gradually endure for the rest of the life, because I have things here in this life that needs to be done and after that I will have an eternal sleep where there will be no fear, anger and regret.

Me, too. You suddenly lose your belief in immortality, seeing your loved ones after you die, and that there's a higher purpose to every suffering you endure. And then there's the fact that you may have spent a good portion of your life making decisions based on a belief in God. I have felt a great deal of loss. 

Last night I went to a Skeptics meetup, and a former nun spoke about her deconversion. It was in midlife that she lost her belief in God. She mentioned she was extremely depressed for a while, feeling loss. But gradually she started to realize there is so much left to live for. I think I'll get there eventually. In case you're interested, her book is Out of the Lion's Den: A Little Girl's Mountain Lion Attack, A Mother's Search for Answers by Susan Mattern.

[Huggy Bear]

Just a minor point, but if I were commanded to do something in the name of the acting attorney general, I would be safe in either doing so with reference to either "Matthew Whitaker" or "The Acting Attorney General".  "In the name of" is an idiomatic phrase meaning to invoke the authority of the person or office, so invoking either is the same thing.  It doesn't literally mean to say the name of the person.  It's figurative.  So this argument that the father, son, and the holy ghost are titles and not names simply doesn't wash.  Saying the name of Jesus alone doesn't do anything.

Considering there are 51 people who go by "Attorney General", you're bound to cause confusion...

Jesus gave Peter the Keys to the kingdom of Heaven...

Jesus told Peter what ever he bound on earth would be bound in Heaven, and what ever he looses on earth would be loosed in Heaven...

When asked how to get to heaven, Peter said to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ...

How one should baptize really isn't debatable, because even if you're Catholic (who also use the trinitarian formula), which claim that Peter was the first pope, and that the Pope is infallible, they should then be baptizing the same way their first "Pope" did...

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Maybe you should learn to follow the flow of a conversation, we're like 25 pages removed from the OP.

Reported.

[Angrboda]

Just a minor point, but if I were commanded to do something in the name of the acting attorney general, I would be safe in either doing so with reference to either "Matthew Whitaker" or "The Acting Attorney General".  "In the name of" is an idiomatic phrase meaning to invoke the authority of the person or office, so invoking either is the same thing.  It doesn't literally mean to say the name of the person.  It's figurative.  So this argument that the father, son, and the holy ghost are titles and not names simply doesn't wash.  Saying the name of Jesus alone doesn't do anything.

Considering there are 51 people who go by "Attorney General", you're bound to cause confusion...

Jesus gave Peter the Keys to the kingdom of Heaven...

Jesus told Peter what ever he bound on earth would be bound in Heaven, and what ever he looses on earth would be loosed in Heaven...

When asked how to get to heaven, Peter said to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ...

How one should baptize really isn't debatable, because even if you're Catholic (who also use the trinitarian formula), which claim that Peter was the first pope, and that the Pope is infallible, they should then be baptizing the same way their first "Pope" did...

You have the same problem Drich has in claiming that the Lord's prayer is exclusive. Simply because there is an example of something doesn't mean that the example is the only way to do things. Seeing that we have a counter-example from no less an authority than Christ himself, this seems to be just another logic fail.

[The Grand Nudger]

 But gradually she started to realize there is so much left to live for.

Sooo much...the entire world, in fact, is left to live for. The removal of a god has absolutely no effect on it.