RE: Conversion - De-conversion *Long*
March 4, 2018 at 11:30 pm
(This post was last modified: March 4, 2018 at 11:32 pm by vulcanlogician.)
(So, basically, someone got sold the chump's package with 5 less virgins )
Rskovride,
Thanks for having the courage to share your story. This place is a great to decompress from all that pressure to believe. As you know, disbelief is not "belief in something other than God." It's the freedom to believe whatever you perceive as true--whether it agrees with somebody's doctrine or not. It's mental freedom. It's the freedom to consider all possibilities about the world. It's the freedom to question whether the moral dictates listed in the Bible are really moral or not. And it's the freedom to take a good look at what's true and what isn't, and live your life accordingly. A lot of people use the term "freethinking," but I prefer "mental freedom" because it's more of a state than an activity.
Addiction can be a terrible thing. I've experienced it myself and have suffered because friends and family in my life were addicted. Addiction masks over one's true identity and replaces it with that of a a single-minded automaton. Addiction causes one to think that immoral actions are perfectly justified. Addiction can consume one's life. Addiction causes one to shut out true friends in favor of the company of other addicts. In short, addiction can be quite destructive. Although not in all cases, all these things can be true of addiction. But guess what? All these things can be true of religion, too.
You have heard that it was said, "Narrow is the gate." But I say, "Wide is the gate, and wide is the world. And free is the mind which can perceive the world as it truly is."
I can't believe I missed this thread! Thanks for posting. And welcome to AF.org.
Rskovride,
Thanks for having the courage to share your story. This place is a great to decompress from all that pressure to believe. As you know, disbelief is not "belief in something other than God." It's the freedom to believe whatever you perceive as true--whether it agrees with somebody's doctrine or not. It's mental freedom. It's the freedom to consider all possibilities about the world. It's the freedom to question whether the moral dictates listed in the Bible are really moral or not. And it's the freedom to take a good look at what's true and what isn't, and live your life accordingly. A lot of people use the term "freethinking," but I prefer "mental freedom" because it's more of a state than an activity.
Addiction can be a terrible thing. I've experienced it myself and have suffered because friends and family in my life were addicted. Addiction masks over one's true identity and replaces it with that of a a single-minded automaton. Addiction causes one to think that immoral actions are perfectly justified. Addiction can consume one's life. Addiction causes one to shut out true friends in favor of the company of other addicts. In short, addiction can be quite destructive. Although not in all cases, all these things can be true of addiction. But guess what? All these things can be true of religion, too.
You have heard that it was said, "Narrow is the gate." But I say, "Wide is the gate, and wide is the world. And free is the mind which can perceive the world as it truly is."
I can't believe I missed this thread! Thanks for posting. And welcome to AF.org.