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RE: I just confessed my Atheism to friends and family!
March 12, 2013 at 8:22 pm
(March 3, 2013 at 2:20 am)AtcAtheist Wrote: I've been wanting to do this for a while now! No one knew my new beliefs but my wife (who is still Christian) and 2 people who I knew were atheists... Maybe I took the easy way out by posting on Facebook, but that was NOT easy to do!! This is what I posted:
*******
I've been wanting to say this for a while now:
I No Longer Believe in God or Jesus...!
I've been doubting and having questions for about a year now. I spoke with 3 of my former pastors, and received typical answers ("we're not supposed to understand", "it's God's will", "just have faith", etc..) After being tired of these unsatisfying 'answers', I started looking for answers myself. The more I dug into the bible, the more disturbing stuff I discovered (especially in the Old Testament), and the more I started doubting the validity of the Bible and religion in general...
Some key factors for my decision: The bible was not written by god, but by man, and for many books, we have no idea who wrote them (including the gospels- no, they were not written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). The bible was written nearly 2000 years ago for a bunch of sand-dwelling people (the true nation of Israel). Most of the stories were passed along by word of mouth for generations before finally being written, so imagine the inaccuracy!! Do we as intelligent grown ups really believe in stories of talking snakes and donkeys, the Red Sea parting for an Israeli shortcut, Jonah living in a whale, people rising from the dead???
There are hundreds of 'Gods' in the world. How many of them do you believe in? Me, I just believe in one less god than you do.
I hope I am not offending anyone, and I hope I don't lose any friends over this... I'm still the same ole Marc!! Please don't judge me, don't think I'm a monster or a heathen damned to hell. I have not taken this decision lightly. I hope you all respect my beliefs, and still accept me for who I am!!
*******
I have gotten some positive replies, but most saying they'll pray for me...
Anyway, my wife feels betrayed that I finally 'came out', and I hope this doesn't put a strain on our marriage.. Anyway, wish me luck!
It's not a confession, it's an assertion.
Whatever happens from here on in, I wish you peace and happiness.
MM
"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions" - Leonardo da Vinci
"I think I use the term “radical” rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as “atheist,” some people will say, “Don’t you mean ‘agnostic’?” I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one ... etc., etc. It’s easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it’s an opinion I hold seriously." - Douglas Adams (and I echo the sentiment)
RE: I just confessed my Atheism to friends and family!
March 13, 2013 at 12:02 am (This post was last modified: March 13, 2013 at 12:07 am by JDS.)
(March 3, 2013 at 2:20 am)AtcAtheist Wrote: I've been wanting to do this for a while now! No one knew my new beliefs but my wife (who is still Christian) and 2 people who I knew were atheists... Maybe I took the easy way out by posting on Facebook, but that was NOT easy to do!! This is what I posted:
*******
I've been wanting to say this for a while now:
I No Longer Believe in God or Jesus...!
I've been doubting and having questions for about a year now. I spoke with 3 of my former pastors, and received typical answers ("we're not supposed to understand", "it's God's will", "just have faith", etc..) After being tired of these unsatisfying 'answers', I started looking for answers myself. The more I dug into the bible, the more disturbing stuff I discovered (especially in the Old Testament), and the more I started doubting the validity of the Bible and religion in general...
Some key factors for my decision: The bible was not written by god, but by man, and for many books, we have no idea who wrote them (including the gospels- no, they were not written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). The bible was written nearly 2000 years ago for a bunch of sand-dwelling people (the true nation of Israel). Most of the stories were passed along by word of mouth for generations before finally being written, so imagine the inaccuracy!! Do we as intelligent grown ups really believe in stories of talking snakes and donkeys, the Red Sea parting for an Israeli shortcut, Jonah living in a whale, people rising from the dead???
There are hundreds of 'Gods' in the world. How many of them do you believe in? Me, I just believe in one less god than you do.
I hope I am not offending anyone, and I hope I don't lose any friends over this... I'm still the same ole Marc!! Please don't judge me, don't think I'm a monster or a heathen damned to hell. I have not taken this decision lightly. I hope you all respect my beliefs, and still accept me for who I am!!
*******
I have gotten some positive replies, but most saying they'll pray for me...
Anyway, my wife feels betrayed that I finally 'came out', and I hope this doesn't put a strain on our marriage.. Anyway, wish me luck!
I like what you wrote and I would think that your friends and family would respect your view.
(March 3, 2013 at 2:26 am)Aractus Wrote: Actually we have a very high degree of confidence that the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts was written by Luke the Evangelist - a companion of Paul. And the Gospel of John is firmly believed to have been written by the John the Apostle because of his constant use of the phrase "the disciple whom Jesus loved" when describing himself.
Also Jonah was swallowed by a fish, not a whale.
You should have gotten those basic facts right before you posted, but you're entitled to let your family know your beliefs.
Do you really believe that Jonah was literally swallowed by a fish and lived in its stomach or was that story intended to be metaphorical symbolizing a greater point? I only ask because it seems to me that the stories in the bible would be a lot more meaningful if they weren't taken literally. When people take these tales as literal truth, I just can't believe they actually believe that and I feel sorry for them.
I could care less if the gospels were written by people who actually knew Jesus. I still don't believe in all the spiritual supernatural nonsense.
RE: I just confessed my Atheism to friends and family!
March 13, 2013 at 2:20 am
Quote:Thanks.
We have been married 15 years this June...
We have talked at length, and have agreed to respect each others beliefs. We are not going to try to push our beliefs off on the other.
This is working for now..
Wish us luck!
Good luck!
When I met my fiancee, we agreed that I'd be the spiritual one and he'd be the logical one. Little did he know I was on my last leg with god anyways, but, I thought it was sweet Nowadays I also think it was sweet and comforting that he assured me that if there is a next life to come, he'd be with me. When it comes down to it, that's all I cared about was knowing that he wanted to be there with me after this life and that if he could he would. It was enough for me then, and even now. After all, no one truly knows what's beyond death besides the dead. Just my 1 1/2 cents
If I were to create self aware beings knowing fully what they would do in their lifetimes, I sure wouldn't create a HELL for the majority of them to live in infinitely! That's not Love, that's sadistic. Therefore a truly loving god does not exist!
Quote:The sin is against an infinite being (God) unforgiven infinitely, therefore the punishment is infinite.
Dead wrong. The actions of a finite being measured against an infinite one are infinitesimal and therefore merit infinitesimal punishment.
Quote:Some people deserve hell.
I say again: No exceptions. Punishment should be equal to the crime, not in excess of it. As soon as the punishment is greater than the crime, the punisher is in the wrong.
RE: I just confessed my Atheism to friends and family!
March 13, 2013 at 2:28 am
(March 12, 2013 at 10:21 pm)Minimalist Wrote: WTF are you babbling about?
Exactly, people want to believe in Darwin's theory of evolution but when it comes to the reality of the belief everyone is steps back... because no 1 wants to be the 1 to say we should let children die in the hospital or blacks in Africa to finally die off and lets us stronger species survive... but they shouldn't bother you because according to Darwin, morals don't exist outside of cultures. especially to evolutionists...
RE: I just confessed my Atheism to friends and family!
March 13, 2013 at 2:36 am (This post was last modified: March 13, 2013 at 2:42 am by Cyberman.)
As most of you know, I'm usually fairly polite and restrained in my responses (what TVTropes would probably term A Deadpan Snarker at best, though I have my moments) but this time I'm going to come right out and say what I hope we're all thinking anyway:
What a load of bollocks. Try not to come back.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
RE: I just confessed my Atheism to friends and family!
March 13, 2013 at 3:24 am
(March 3, 2013 at 8:03 pm)Aractus Wrote: Wow, no wonder you don't believe. Atc - as I said you need to address the evidence that you're presented with, what we're given, not make straw man arguments.
1. John the Baptist is a different character to John the Apostle. No one has ever suggested that he wrote the Gospel of John.
2. It is not signed with the author's name - a fact you're either unaware of or you have ignored in favour of your straw man.
3. You didn't bother saying a thing on the evidence of John's authorship - the evidence being that John doesn't use his name, but rather consistently uses the phrase "the disciple whom Jesus loved" to describe himself.
Why do you think having expertise in the bible makes any of it true or should cause anyone to think there is a supernatural god who created everything? It's all bull shit. No matter how hard you study the bible and know it's history, there is still no god.
RE: I just confessed my Atheism to friends and family!
March 13, 2013 at 7:18 am
(March 10, 2013 at 6:42 pm)Stimbo Wrote:
(March 10, 2013 at 6:07 pm)Catechism Wrote: So what do you get for being an atheist? Do you get a gift card or free wax at the car wash or something?
You get a free brain. Try it and find out.
Not quite. You get a freed brain.
Atheist Forums Hall of Shame:
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist
RE: I just confessed my Atheism to friends and family!
March 13, 2013 at 7:26 am
I got a free brain as well. I use it as a paperweight.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
RE: I just confessed my Atheism to friends and family!
March 13, 2013 at 6:26 pm
If happened to have an extra brain, I would give it to some Christian friends of mine... They definitely need one
"I trust my own reason and my own capacities to think and educate myself and to reach greater levels of knowlege and status through learning and work. To me, wishing for a god is like wishing to be a slave, it is like declaring that one is too incompetent to handle one's own affairs." - the germans are coming
Little did he know I was on my last leg with god anyways, but, I thought it was sweet![[Image: tumblr_n1j4lmACk61qchtw3o1_500.gif]](https://66.media.tumblr.com/5fb74c6d16622fb3dbb358509c9aec03/tumblr_n1j4lmACk61qchtw3o1_500.gif)
