Let's Start Over, I'm Blackrook and I'm Here to Get Some Answers to Important Questions

[Tiberius]

Anyway, let's start over.

My name is Blackrook and I'm a Catholic in crisis and I'm here to get some answers to some questions I have.

Catholicism has been a great comfort to me when I had feelings that I didn't want to live, and felt like killing myself.

I felt God's presence, literally reaching out to me and telling me I was loved.

Even now, in my current state of pessimism, I can look forward to something better after my bitter struggle in this world is complete.

What can atheism offer to replace that?

If Catholicism works for you, that's great. Atheism isn't designed to replace anything; it's simply a disbelief in God. Atheists deal with such feelings in other ways; we rely on friends and family to feel loved, medication if we are clinically depressed, etc. Of course, theists have these things to rely on as well, but like I said, the point of atheism isn't to have another safety net. The point of atheism is accepting that the evidence for a God existing is non-existent, and we are better of focusing on bettering mankind and learning about the universe we live in than spending time worshiping any kind of God.

I accept that after I die, that's it. I won't get another chance at life, or something better. Instead of making me feel sad, this makes me feel good. I live under the assumption that I only have one life, so I try to make the most of it. Enjoy every moment, because every moment quite literally might be my last.

The only problem I have with religion is when people refuse to just let it be a personal thing, and try to force it on other people, or use it as an excuse to take away rights from others. The world would be a much better place if everyone just let people believe what they wanted, and didn't try to push their own religion on anyone else.

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I don't care if we are being rude to you. Big deal, The Atheist Church isn't spending millions of dollars on Atheist conversion programs. You know why? Because those things don't exist. Meanwhile the Catholic church is dying as they spend millions and perhaps billions of dollars.

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That's without us even caring. So go back to your church and take whatever comfort you want in it. We don't care.

So...every Catholic agrees 100% with what the Catholic church does? Grow up. Catholics have more internal disagreements than any other sect on the planet. You cannot blame all Catholics for the actions of the church they follow; nor can you blame them for not leaving.