Christians Hope I Die Tomorrow

[LivingNumbers6.626]

Wow, I never thought the idea would scare me so much. I didn't think the idea would make me so emotional but today it has.

I've been atheist for five months now and let's just say my previous network, church, family, friends...haven't been that cool about it. I really am building my network back up again. It's coming together quite well.

But I'm afraid to die tomorrow. I'm not afraid to die for my sake, but for the sake of my family and friends.

You see, if I die tomorrow or contract some terminal illness tomorrow all of my family and friends will interpret as a punishment from God for my atheism and my wife's agnosticism. They take the event to church, and testify that our story is a testament to our iniquity and sin. I don't want to be mad an example. And my poor wife, they would say that God is punishing her too if I would die.

It's terrible that religions work this way rather than looking to reason.

See, I've been pretty pissed, angry, and out spoken the first 4 months I came out and this only aids my enemy into thinking it is because of my atheism.

I just hope I have time to return to my normal happy, positive, welcoming self before I pass or the people around me will use me as an example.

Anyways, that's what's bothering me. Thank you all for being my support since I've joined.

[Wyrd of Gawd]

Wow, I never thought the idea would scare me so much. I didn't think the idea would make me so emotional but today it has.

I've been atheist for five months now and let's just say my previous network, church, family, friends...haven't been that cool about it. I really am building my network back up again. It's coming together quite well.

But I'm afraid to die tomorrow. I'm not afraid to die for my sake, but for the sake of my family and friends.

You see, if I die tomorrow or contract some terminal illness tomorrow all of my family and friends will interpret as a punishment from God for my atheism and my wife's agnosticism. They take the event to church, and testify that our story is a testament to our iniquity and sin. I don't want to be mad an example. And my poor wife, they would say that God is punishing her too if I would die.

It's terrible that religions work this way rather than looking to reason.

See, I've been pretty pissed, angry, and out spoken the first 4 months I came out and this only aids my enemy into thinking it is because of my atheism.

I just hope I have time to return to my normal happy, positive, welcoming self before I pass or the people around me will use me as an example.

Anyways, that's what's bothering me. Thank you all for being my support since I've joined.

Remember the story of King Asa. He had been king for 39 years and then he got a bad foot disease. He didn't pray to God for help but instead he went to the doctors. It took him two years to die. The doctors didn't get credit for extending his life for an extra two years.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?sea...V;CJB;NKJV

[MJ the Skeptical]

I'm sure you love your family, but they are being a bunch of assholes if they think you getting killed was punishment, that's a typical apologetic of believers to justify atrocities of life. I guess to them if you killed them hypothetically, then that would be a blessing to them since they go to heaven. You may be going through that stage in the beginning of your non-belief some call the angry stage of atheism, where you hate all things religion. Some grow out of it, some don't, I personally have never stopped hating lies.

[KUSA]

Let them think what they like. They are gonna do it anyway regardless of what happens. Just don't give a shit about it.

[psychoslice]

I wasb treated the same way by my church when I left, but I didn't say I was an atheist, I simply said I don't see god the way they do. They were all praying for me as if I was lost in the world with Satan, I just had to keep away from them for my sake and theirs. Of course you miss some of them as friends, but a true friend will except you the way you are, if there is true friends in your church they will in time come to you without judging you, but you have to also stop judging them, they are happy believing in what they believe, you must be happy also in what you believe, if your not, then you haven't really left.

[MJ the Skeptical]

See, that's bullshit KUSA, there are plenty of believers that can be convinced by logical argument or demonstrable evidence.

I have friends who I thought were hopelessly religious and all I had to do was give a shit.

[Coffee Jesus]

Babies and children die all the time. I wonder what they did to deserve to die...

You may be going through that stage in the beginning of your non-belief some call the angry stage of atheism, where you hate all things religion. Some grow out of it, some don't, I personally have never stopped hating lies.

I didn't dislike religion when I first became an atheist. I was introduced to atheism through Buddhism.

[KUSA]

See, that's bullshit KUSA, there are plenty of believers that can be convinced by logical argument or demonstrable evidence.

I have friends who I thought were hopelessly religious and all I had to do was give a shit.

It's not bullshit. Why worry about things and be depressed? I never said not to have discussions about your beliefs. I'm sorry I gave any advice to you. As a matter of fact, I retract my comment. Let the worrying continue.

[MJ the Skeptical]

See, that's bullshit KUSA, there are plenty of believers that can be convinced by logical argument or demonstrable evidence.

I have friends who I thought were hopelessly religious and all I had to do was give a shit.

It's not bullshit. Why worry about things and be depressed? I never said not to have discussions about your beliefs. I'm sorry I gave any advice to you. As a matter of fact, I retract my comment. Let the worrying continue.

It is bullshit. People don't necessarily stick with there beliefs regardless, so I think you should concede the point that it actually is a good thing to give a shit about what other people believe, out of respect for understanding and cooperation. Nobody said they can't believe how they want, but it's up to rational folk to bring the irrational folk down to Earth in many cases. Otherwise one could condone/ignore the problem that is religion, the choice is theirs. However, the apathy on this topic worries me more than the religion itself. And I don't agree with the framing that this would make someone depressed who isn't already, and who's to say this topic would make one depressed. I happen to enjoy sticking up for the rational imperative that is atheism.

[SteelCurtain]

Elcon, think about how close these thoughts are to the fear extortion that keeps people stuck in religion. You don't need that shit in your life. Every moment you spend worrying about dying tomorrow is a moment that you are not spending in this moment, now, with your wife and friends who support you.