Opinions on my drive to be an atheist

[robvalue]

Why do you want to get divorced if you love her?

If you want to get divorced, do you think a god that forces you to stay together regardless is a good god, one worth worshipping? I don't. That's a twattish thing to do and he doesn't deserve respect for it.

He's all talk, it's all threats about what happens after you die. And not even from him, from his followers presuming to speak for him. Well, probably nothing happens after you die so it's all bluster. He's not doing anything to heathens like me living my own morality and ignoring his version.

The God of the bible can't exist as written because it is self contradictory. So if it does exist in some form, it's not what people say it is. No one can know anything about God, they make it up.

I think God is a cunt, as written in the bible. I'm sorry if that upsets you. But it's clear to me, having no investment in the book. If it does personally upset you, that is evidence that God is in your mind only.

[Won2blv]

No, it's not a good reason, and it doesn't make sense. Noone can choose to believe in the existence God or not because of some desired outcome. That makes no sense whatsoever.

Anyway, you do not feel that you are trapped in a loveless marriage, so why would you get a divorce? Do you just have psychopathic tendencies and need God to stop you? Or do you think you wife would leave you? I'm not quite getting your point.

I have told my wife my honest feelings, I love her very much. But I don't love her in a romantic way like I use to. I know my wife would never leave me or cheat on me. And I would never cheat on her. And to clarify, when I think about the desire to be an atheist, the main positive outcome that comes to mind is that I could get divorced without committing adultery first. Which is a bible base JW rule. 

[robvalue]

I tell you what: even if there was a load of crazy stuff going on 2000 years ago with God interacting with the world, killing people, blowing stuff up, sending down versions of himself...

It's long since over.

Edit: okay, well you are an atheist already, from what you say. As I said it's not a choice. It's totally understandable you are still scared by your previous "teachings" (I won't use the I-word ) Stuff like that doesn't give up easily.

[pocaracas]

Most divorces happen after 3 years of marriage. That's when the "lovey dovey" part ends and reality sets in.
My guess is you're about in this time period.

OR, you can be in what people call the "middle age crisis"... you want to be a 20 again, and screw some hot horny young scrumptious babes you see going by.

Anyway, coming up with the excuse that you're an atheist just to get your wife to want to divorce you is weird.

I have a suggestion: do those crazy things you so want to do... WITH HER!

[Won2blv]

Why do you want to get divorced if you love her?

If you want to get divorced, do you think a god that forces you to stay together regardless is a good god, one worth worshipping? I don't. That's a twattish thing to do and he doesn't deserve respect for it.

He's all talk, it's all threats about what happens after you die. And not even from him, from his followers presuming to speak for him. Well, probably nothing happens after you die so it's all bluster. He's not doing anything to heathens like me living my own morality and ignoring his version.

The God of the bible can't exist as written because it is self contradictory. So if it does exist in some form, it's not what people say it is. No one can know anything about God, they make it up.

I think God is a cunt, as written in the bible. I'm sorry if that upsets you. But it's clear to me, having no investment in the book. If it does personally upset you, that is evidence that God is in your mind only.

I do love my wife but just not romantically. There are many kinds of love and sadly I don't feel the husband wife one with my wife. God doesn't force you to stay together regardless if it is good or not. He just says that the only grounds for divorce is adultery. So every JW goes into marriage knowing that and knowing that if they want a happy marriage then they need to work on it and maintain it. I don't see whats wrong with that. God has not threatened me with anything after I die. If I get hit by a truck driving to work today then I'll be a mangled lifeless body that will soon be cremated and probably spread out in a pond in Disneyland (per my wishes) And that is a JW belief. Not the disneyland part... And I don't get the animosity towards god from so many atheist. Atheist always say, "you don't believe in thor or zeus do you?" Well why don't thor and zues get your animosity all the same? Or do they? What about hindu gods? Are those same imaginary figures all cunts too? You can easily say yes they are but I wonder if they all well up the same emotional disdain

---

Most divorces happen after 3 years of marriage. That's when the "lovey dovey" part ends and reality sets in.
My guess is you're about in this time period.

OR, you can be in what people call the "middle age crisis"... you want to be a 20 again, and screw some hot horny young scrumptious babes you see going by.

Anyway, coming up with the excuse that you're an atheist just to get your wife to want to divorce you is weird.

I have a suggestion: do those crazy things you so want to do... WITH HER!

Well I am 27 and have been married for 7 1/2 years. I would love to do those crazy things but she just isn't the type. 

[Jenny A]

And I don't get the animosity towards god from so many atheist. Atheist always say, "you don't believe in thor or zeus do you?" Well why don't thor and zues get your animosity all the same? Or do they? What about hindu gods? Are those same imaginary figures all cunts too? You can easily say yes they are but I wonder if they all well up the same emotional disdain

---

It's two things in my case.  First it's looking objectively at the god depicted in the Bible.  The god of the OT is an arbitrary, blood thirsty, tyrant.  And on top of all that he's needy.  The god of the NT demands faith without evidence in return for an eternity spent worshiping him and threatens hellfire if you don't believe.  And he's rather needy too.  The problem with him is that he was invented a couple thousand years ago by people.  And he reflects many on the worst qualities of people.

Second, it the stupid things people do in the name of god:  wars, crusades, gay bashing, slave owning, shunning, prosperity theology, and on and on.  It's not that people don't do bad things without believing in him, but that he makes such a damned good self justification when they do.

What about the other gods?  Well yes, they too are imaginary.  But I don't spend much time worrying about Zeus.  Allah is a problem for the same reasons Yahweh is a problem.  And Islam is currently the greater producer of violence and intolerance. Hinduism too creates problems, they just aren't problems in my backyard very often.  But yeah, a belief system that divides people into castes is a bad thing.  Not to mention that the idea that this life is the result of what you did in the last one is perfect excuse to ignore the poor or ill. 

[pocaracas]

Most divorces happen after 3 years of marriage. That's when the "lovey dovey" part ends and reality sets in.
My guess is you're about in this time period.

OR, you can be in what people call the "middle age crisis"... you want to be a 20 again, and screw some hot horny young scrumptious babes you see going by.

Anyway, coming up with the excuse that you're an atheist just to get your wife to want to divorce you is weird.

I have a suggestion: do those crazy things you so want to do... WITH HER!

Well I am 27 and have been married for 7 1/2 years. I would love to do those crazy things but she just isn't the type. 

That's a long time... but I got you beat at just over 10 years!

"She isn't the type"... how about you ask her if she wants to join you in doing these things which would give you immense pleasure? Nothing strengthens a relationship better than sharing the good things in life!

[KevinM1]

Nic, you don't have to become an atheist if you simply want to leave the JW's. This isn't a binary proposition where it's either your current religion or no religion at all. You shouldn't feel forced to give up all of what you believe in just because you want some fun and a little bit of a do-over in life.

Atheism was never a goal for us. It was the conclusion we reached after years of searching and questioning. None of us were like, "Man, I totally want to be an atheist! What, with all the social stigma and everything? It's gonna be awesome!" No, we became atheists despite knowing how it would impact us socially because we feel that it's better to stay true to ourselves than it is to live a lie because it's convenient.

So, you need to do some actual soul searching instead of this trite, "My club is really strict and I want to leave. If I parrot and mimic what you say and do, can I join yours?" thing you're currently doing.

[Whateverist]

Frankly I find it amazing that you can realize you don't believe it yet be loathe to leave that cesspool of a religion. I understand your family and social relationships depend on the perception that you are one of them. You will be shunned if you speak the truth. That is a pretty tough reality.

And you're right your life has been greatly constrained by all this. You have my sympathy. Best of luck making your way into a social network that fits you better. I apologize for my initial reaction.

[robvalue]

Err...I have no animosity towards the God of the bible any more than I do towards Darth Vader, they are both fictional characters to me. But people are trying to tell me that not only is the God of the bible real, he's swell. He's an evil character, nothing more. If people were telling me Thor was real or whatever, I'd learn more about him. The dumbfoundment comes from people worshipping such an obviously evil character. If I thought it was real, I'd tell it to fuck off. Although to be fair, I haven't read the JW bible so I don't know what's different about it.

All that is to decide is whether to be honest with yourself that you're an atheist now, and with your wife. (I'm going by your statement that you have a gut feeling God doesn't exist, that clearly makes you an atheist. Of course some people dislike the label and prefer to call themselves just agnostic rather than agnostic atheist, which is fine. I'm not trying to tell you what to call yourself, just pointing out the facts.) And whether you're gonna chuck in the JW stuff is your choice.

Some marriages don't work out and forcing them to stay together is a bad idea, whoever is saying it. Of course you try and work things out, but to drag it out your whole life when it's clearly broken is ridiculous. It sounds like you want a divorce. If that's the case, get a divorce. It's fairer on your wife than you staying with her just because of JW reasons.

You say God is going to hold you to account, when exactly? If you don't believe in hell, what's he going to do to you? Feck all, like he does to me. If he's upset, well I think he can handle it hey? He's a big boy. He should want you to be happy, if he's a being worthy of any respect.